by Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports

by Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports

NFL head coaching vacancies are popping up right and left. Is Jon Gruden ready to fill one of them?

The ESPN Monday Night Football analyst told teams interested in his services that he'd be willing to talk at the conclusion of the 2012 regular season, according to CBSSports' Mike Freeman.

Gruden has been in the booth since getting the boot from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2008 season. He owns a 100-85 record in 11 seasons spread between the Bucs and Oakland Raiders, overseeing five playoff runs while steering Tampa Bay to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002 season. (Gruden's detractors will note that he brought home the championship with Tony Dungy's team after the Bucs pried him away from the Silver & Black in 2002.)

Gruden re-upped with ESPN for five years midway through the 2011 season but has been constantly linked to job openings in the NFL and major-college programs.

His work with ESPN's fictional FFCA - Fired Football Coaches Association - has granted him unique insight into young players, particularly quarterbacks, in recent years. Gruden experienced his greatest pro success with veterans Rich Gannon in Oakland and Brad Johnson in Tampa. However, he might have to adapt his highly detailed playbook (and famously verbose play calls) to a new breed of passers, who seem to be getting younger and more athletic by the season in a position that's clearly evolving.